Leadership failure in the church …

There’s a “holy contradiction” that rages within me.

On one hand, I passionately love the Church. The Church is the bride of Christ, and it is for the Church that Christ will return. The Church is the body of Christ on earth, it is the very family of God.

On the other hand, their is rampant sin and failure in the Church, and that must be called out, challenged, and changed.

The starting point is with church leadership.

Again, I have a contradiction. As a pastor myself, I know first-hand the great challenges men of genuine faith face as leaders in the Church. Everything is expected of them while they are both under-supported and under- appreciated. At the same time, many of the problems the church faces today originates from leadership.

Here’s one: Jesus didn’t say “Go into all the world via technology and develop a powerful personal brand establishing yourself as a great leader.” He said “GO MAKE DISCIPLES!” Unfortunately, there are far too many leaders who care more about, and TALK MORE ABOUT, establishing themselves as a great leader than they do actually discipling people in their congregation.

NOT “mentoring” someone to be a leader.

NOT being “mentored” in your own leadership role.

NOT networking with other church leaders.

But working with the truck drivers and soccer moms, grocery clerks and postal workers, car salesmen and school teachers in your own congregations and communities simply to help them become disciples of Jesus Christ.

If your role as a leader is more important to you than discipling someone, your view of leadership is not a biblical one.

Making disciples is priority ONE for any church leader. At least it’s supposed to be, but obviously isn’t given the fact we have church after church after church full of biblically illiterate people who are not truly DISCIPLES of Jesus Christ.

This situation will not change until leaders change what is most important to them: the discipleship of their flock and community, or their “personal brand.”

Granted, church leaders can’t do all the discipling, but it has to start with them. Church leaders can use technology in great ways to further their efforts and leadership, but it’s not a substitute for the direct, biblical work they are called to do.

When a pastor knows more about how to design a website than how to make a disciple, you know something is terribly wrong in the church.

Church leaders, if your church isn’t full of biblically literate DISCIPLES, why is that? And specifically what are you going to do about it?

Scotty